Md. Sourov Hossain Mithun
Excel has three default horizontal alignments for a cell- Left, Right, and Center. But if we want, we can change the position of a value horizontally according to our requirement and that is called changing indent. For that, Excel has 5 possible methods. So, you are going to learn those 5 methods from this article to change the indent in Excel with easy steps and vivid illustrations.
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5 Ways to Change Indent in Excel
First of all, get introduced to our dataset that represents some best-selling book’s prices. Have a look, the names are left aligned.
1. Using Ribbon to Change Indent
First, we’ll learn the most common way- using the commands from the Home ribbon. In the Alignment section of the Home ribbon, there are two commands- Increase Indent and Decrease Indent. By using these, we can change the Indent easily.
Steps:
- Select the cell where you want to change the indent.
- Then click as follows to increase indent: Home > Increase Indent.
It will increase indent equivalent to 3 times of space for pressing each time.
Now see, the indent increased from the left side as our cell was aligned left.
- Later, to decrease the indent, click the Decrease Indent command from the Alignment section of the Home tab from the ribbon.
Soon you will see that the indent decreased and returned to the previous position.
Read More: Find and Replace Tab Character in Excel (2 Suitable Ways)
2. Change Indent Using Keyboard Shortcut
Excel has two shortcut keys by which we can perform the same previous commands. The keys are-
- Increase Indent: ALT + H + 6
- Decrease Indent: ALT + H + 5
But keep in mind that we’ll need the numeric keys on our keyboard to apply the commands.
Steps:
- First, select the cell where you want to increase the indent. I selected Cell B7.
- Next, press ALT + H + 6 (Press 6 from the numeric keys).
See, the indent increased one time for pressing the shortcut keys once.
- Then to decrease the indent, press ALT + H + 5 (Press 5 from the numeric keys).
And it got back to the previous position.
Read More: How to Indent Bullet Points of a Cell in Excel (3 Effective Ways)
3. Using Format Cells Dialog Box to Change Indent
Suppose, you need 5 times or 10 times indent at a time, so you will have to press the command or use shortcut keys for 5 or 10 times. It’s pretty boring or time-consuming. In this case, the best way is to use the Format Cells dialog box. Because here, we can insert the indent number directly.
Steps:
- Before opening the Format Cells dialog box, select the cells. I selected two cells this time.
- After that, click on the shortcut icon of the Format Cells dialog box from the Alignment section of the Home tab.
Soon after, the Format Cells dialog box will open up.
- Later, insert the number of indents in the Indent box. I inserted 2.
- Then just press OK.
Now have a look, the indent increased two times for both the cells.
Read More: How to Indent Twice the Data in Excel (4 Easy Ways)
4. Manually Change Indent in Different Lines of a Cell
There is no built-in command in Excel to change indent in different lines of a cell. So we’ll have to insert indent manually in different lines.
Steps:
- First, we’ll insert a line break in Cell B7. place the cursor from where you want to insert a line break.
- Then just press the ALT + ENTER keys.
Here is the broken line. Now we’ll insert indents before the second line.
- Place the cursor before the second line.
- Next, just press the SPACE key as many times as you require indents.
Then soon after, you will see the output like the image below.
Read More: How to Indent Second Line in Excel Cell (5 Easy Ways)
5. Using VBA to Increase Indent
If you like to work with VBA then you can increase indent using simple VBA codes. But this macro will only increase indent, can’t decrease indent.
Steps:
- Press ALT + F11 to open the VBAÂ window.
- Then click as follows to insert a new module: Insert > Module.
- Later, type the following codes in it-
Sub Increase_Indent()
Dim mInd As Integer
mInd = InputBox("Insert the Number of Indents", "Change Indent")
Selection.InsertIndent mInd
End Sub- Next, go back to your sheet.
- At this moment, select the cell where you want to add indents and then click as follows: Developer > Macros.
- later, just select the Macro name and press Run.
- Finally, just insert the number of indents and press OK. I inserted 3.
Soon you will see that 3 indents are successfully added before the text.
Read More: How to Insert Tab in Excel Cell (4 Easy Ways)
Conclusion
That’s all for the article. I hope the above procedures will be good enough to change the indent in Excel. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section and give me feedback. Visit ExcelDemy to explore more.
